


Young Blood

by LadyXana



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, First Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Inspired by Music, POV First Person, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27512467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyXana/pseuds/LadyXana
Summary: Ava is the new girl in school. Sara and her don't get along at first, but soon find they actually have things in common and become good friends.As always, I suck at summaries.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 20
Kudos: 38





	Young Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired while I was listening to the song "Teenage Dirtbag". This was supposed to be a short piece, but turned out to be a long one, that I started in August and finished only now. It ended up also being inspired in the song "Youngblood".
> 
> It's also my first time writing from a First Person POV (entirely Sara's in this case. She's the narrator).
> 
> This had no beta-readers, so forgive me for any mistakes you mind.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_ I used to think that true love didn't exist. That it was merely something invented by the movies’ industry so that people would spend their paychecks and allowances in tickets to the theatre and on merchandising, earning studios billions of dollars. _

_ I thought it was simply a pretty smart strategy on their behalf. But as it turns out, I was wrong. _

_ Tremendously wrong, if I'm being honest. And it was all thanks to a single person. Someone who I never thought, not in a million years, would even consider the idea of dating me. _

_ And yet, here I am; telling you the story of how one Ava Sharpe and I came to be together. _

* * *

**HIGH SCHOOL - SENIOR YEAR**

The bell had just rung when I finally got to class. I hurried up inside, choosing one of the last two vacant seats in the back of the room, while completely ignoring the glare my Physics teacher was throwing at me.

His glare was, however, quickly erased as his attention was drawn to another student coming in.

"Is this Physics 101?" a tall and blonde girl asked, clearly out of breath.

"Yes it is. And you are?" the teacher asked, annoyance dripping from his voice.

The girl gulped before replying, "My deepest apologies for the delay, but I'm still not acquainted with the facilities."

_ "Acquainted with the facilities?" This girl speaks better than most of our teachers. _

She stepped further into the room and extended her hand for the teacher to take, introducing herself, "I'm Ava Sharpe. I just transferred here from California."

The teacher took her hand, "I see. Welcome to our humble town, Miss Sharpe. Please take a seat, I was just about to start."

Ava nodded, looking for a vacant seat. She quickly made her way over, sitting down right next to me.

We briefly exchanged a look, and I took the chance to shoot her one of my trademark smirks. To which, surprisingly, she frowned and looked away.

I have to admit that at the time, it slightly annoyed me. The least she could have done was acknowledge it or give a polite smile back. Instead I remember finding her extremely rude. Incredibly hot, but still rude.

I tried getting her attention throughout the rest of the class, "So you're from California uh? What brings you here?" but nothing made her budge. Her eyes were either stuck on our teacher or on her notebook the entire time.

I eventually gave up and tried to pay attention to class as well.

Once it was over, she quickly gathered all her things and sped off the room.

I tried chasing after her, but once I reached the door looking to both sides of the corridor, I found no traces of her. I ended up losing her amongst the sea of other students crossing the hall.

Setting my disappointment and annoyance aside, I made my way to my locker so I could retrieve a textbook for my next class.

  
  


"There you are Lance," a familiar voice said, its owner settling beside me.

"Good morning to you too, Zari," I greeted my friend, a smirk betraying my fake annoyance.

She placed her hand on her chest, and I knew she was about to give me some of her sassiness. "Ah yes, where are my manners?" she asked, bowing before adding, "Good morning my Queen, how are you this fine day?"

I waved her off with my hand, "You're an idiot. I don't know why I still hang around with you."

She chuckled, crossing her arms, "Because you love me and would be completely helpless without me, duh."

I scoffed at her words, "Yeah right."

"Anyway, how's the first day back treating you? Was Physics with Savage too bad?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "It was fine, boring as always. We did get a new student though."

That picked her interest, "Oh? Is he hot?"

"Well  _ he's  _ a  _ she _ , and-"

"Hey ladies! How's it going?" one of our friends approached, a kind smile on his face as always.

"Hey Jax! Sara was just telling me about a new student in Vandal's class."

"A new student in our highschool actually, apparently she just moved here from California."

Jax whistled at the information, "California? Can't believe she traded that for little old Starling."

I slapped him playfully in the arm, "C'mon dude, Starling isn't that bad."

Zari snorted at my words, "It isn't that bad?! Sara there is literally nothing around here for miles. Nothing fun and new ever happens!"

"Yeah this is definitely a bore compared to California." Jax added.

"And how would you know that? You've never even been there." I offered, shaking my head. "I for once like it here. It's the place where we all grew up and came to be friends. It holds so many memories."

"Ugh, it's too early for sappiness. I better head out to class now." Zari said before making her way across the hall, leaving me and Jax alone.

He turned to me, smirk in place, eyeing me.

"Yes?" I asked him, already guessing a question coming my way.

"So this new girl, what did you think of her?"

"She's rude, but definitely hot."

"Well rudeness never stopped you before."

I chuckled at his remark, nodding slightly, "True, but I don't know. I think I'll need more time with this one."

"For real?" 

"Yep. She didn't even offer an "hello". It was cold shoulder the whole time."

That took Jax by surprise. "Damn! She really resisted the Lance's charme, uh?"

I laughed at that, "My friend, she hasn't seen anything yet."

* * *

_ It had been three weeks since the beginning of the semester already, and all my attempts to talk to Ava had been fruitless.  _

_ Either she completely ignored me, or she gave me short and quick responses. To great surprise, I eventually gave up in chasing her. _

_ However, that ended up changing at the end of that third week. _

  
  


Me, Jax and Zari were having lunch at the cafeteria at our usual table when I surprisingly spotted Ava, making her way through the food line. I elbowed Zari to get her attention, making her drop a piece of food into her tray.

"Dude, what is your problem? Can't a girl eat in peace?"

I tilted my head in Ava's direction, "That's her, that's the new girl."

Jax immediately turned on his seat, trying to catch sight of her. I quickly kicked him under the table, "Don't be so obvious!"

"Damn, Sara! I just needed to see if she was real or not. No need to get so nervous over a random crush."

I frowned at that, "Of course she's real! And I'm not nervous nor do I have a crush on her!" 

"Very convincing…" Zari chimed in, laughing along with Jax.

"Ugh, you guys are the worst!" I complained, getting back to finish my meal. When I lifted my head again and looked at the line, I noticed that Ava wasn't there anymore. I looked around the room and my eyes finally landed on her, sitting all by herself on a table by the window. I took my time to study her, noticing how the food in her plate was untouched and instead of eating, she was simply staring out the window. 

_ It made me wonder even more why after three weeks she had suddenly decided to eat at the cafeteria, instead of outside like she had been doing up until that point. _

_ It might have been just me at the time, but she somehow seemed sad. And I cannot explain why, but that triggered something inside of me. _

_ Something deeper, and the will of reaching out to her settled within me. _

  
  


My attention shifted when I saw a guy sitting across from her, clearly chatting her up.

Jax must have noticed my attention was somewhere else and followed my line of sight. Once he turned to me and Zari again, he was shaking his head. "Man, Noah really doesn't miss an opportunity. It's the first time the girl shows up around here and he's already over her."

"New girl doesn't seem to be falling for his lines though," Zari stated before taking a last bite to her burger.

Turned out she was correct, a couple of minutes after and Ava was making her way out of the cafeteria, tray with her food untouched left behind.

"Oops, guess it didn't go so well for him. Can't say I feel sorry for him, the guy can be a douche." Jax said as a matter of fact.

"I should check if she's alright, we all know Noah can be a handful." I told them, ignoring their snorts of laughter and sarcastic "sure".

  
  


That time I was able to spot her on time going down the hallway.

"Hey Ava! Wait!" I called after her, making her look behind.

Once she saw me, she simply ignored me, walking quickly ahead.

"Hey! Can you wait?" I tried once more, and this time she stopped.

"What do you want Sara?" she asked, eyebrows dipped in a frown.

_ And I know that I am going to sound like a cliché, but that was the first time I really noticed how beautiful she was, even in her angry state. _

However, the fact that she had been ignoring me so far still annoyed me so I ended up letting it slip through my words, "Oh, so you do know my name."

Her frown only deepened before she scoffed, crossing her arms against her chest. She stepped closer before saying, "Are you actually going to tell me why you chased me down the hall or are you just keep being a petulant child?"

"Excuse me?!" I retorted, adopting the same posture as her.

"You heard me. Why did you follow me out here?" Ava pressured, her eyes searching mine, as if she was looking for the answer in them.

My first instinct was to attack, but something stopped me. The image of the sad girl by the window I had just seen a few minutes ago. My whole resolve came tumbling down, and I dropped the angry act.

"I just wanted to check on you. I noticed you left the cafeteria without touching your food." I explained, as sincerely as I could.

Her anger faltered at my explanation, frown no longer in place, shoulders dropping.

"Oh, okay," she said before a blush rose to her cheeks, making her look away.

"I also noticed that Noah Smith approached you. Did he say something wrong to you? Because he can be a dick sometimes and-"

"No, no. He didn't say anything bad, I just… I wasn't feeling well."

I nodded and stepped closer, "Yeah I guess being the new girl here must be hard."

She gave a humourless laugh, "Yes, you could say that."

Silence settled between us for a while, until something close to regret crossed her face. "I'm sorry for calling you a child earlier."

  
  


"A  _ petulant  _ child, you mean." I corrected her, without any bite behind my words.

Ava smiled apologetically, "Yes, sorry."

I waved her off, "It's fine, it’s in the past now."

She nodded at that, "Okay."

Another beat of silence settled before I spoke again, "Say, would you like joining me and my friends at our table?" 

Her hand went up to scratch the back of her neck, a nervous habit I would come to associate with her.

"I don't know, I don't want to intrude."

I shook my head at that, "It's fine, really. They won't mind, and you should at least try to finish your meal."

She eventually agreed, and as I expected, Jax and Zari were perfectly fine with it. What I didn't expect was how easily Ava fit in on our group.

_ I realized that I had read her completely wrong. Even though Ava was an extremely dedicated person to her studies and seemed to put it above everything else in her life, she was also very devoted to her friends and classmates. _

_ And that is partially why she fit in so well with us. If any of us needed help, with anything at all, Ava would be there. And she was a breath of fresh air, she was quirky and funny, smart and adorable. She added to our dynamic for the best.  _

_ So it wasn't any surprise to me when she started hanging with another group as well. One that probably suited her more, her Quiz Heads group, made up of the most intelligent kids in our year. Soon enough she was spending her lunch time with them, and breaks as well. They would go to several competitions across the city to compete against other high schools and so far had only lost once. They were very close to reaching the championship where they would compete against other States. _

_ She was in a very happy mood, but also extremely anxious. The new competition would be a week after Spring Break, so she was taking the chance to study during the break. _

_ For some unknown reason, she thought I would be a good study partner and that's how we ended up having a sleepover over the weekend. _

  
  


I was sitting on my bed while she grabbed some flash cards from her overnight bag.

"So tell me again why you thought I was gonna be a good study partner?" I asked her, earning a small laugh from her.

She made her way over to my bed, sitting crossed leg across from me.

"First of all-" she stopped, slapping my arm playfully, "-you're an idiot for thinking that you're not smart enough."

I rubbed my arm, faking being hurt. She smirked at me before adding, "Secondly, we work well together. We've done several top grade projects as a group that prove just that."

"By that logic, you could have just as easily asked Amaya."

Ava shrugged her shoulders, fidgeting with the cards in her hands. "It's not as fun…" she said in a low voice. She finally raised her head, beautiful ocean eyes looking right into mine. "She's not as fun as you," she admitted, an adorable blush covering her cheeks.

The fact that she preferred being with me instead of Amaya made something flutter in my belly, and I desperately told myself - for the hundredth time ever since I had met Ava - to forget about any other feelings besides friendship. Because Ava - sweet, beautiful, intelligent and kind Ava - would never think of me like that.

So instead, like always, I gave an idiotic reply. "Well you know me, I'm all about fun."

"Yeah…" she replied, and for a moment she seemed sad.

"Here are the cards," she added, handing them to me. "All you have to do is ask me what's written down and I'll answer correctly. Hopefully."

I smiled encouragingly at her, "I'm sure you will. You're Ava  _ fucking _ Sharpe, Captain of the Quiz Heads!" 

Ava laughed at that, and the whole room brightened. "I'm not so sure my father would approve of the new middle name you just gave me."

I shook my head, "That just means he has poor taste."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just start with the quiz please."

  
  


*******

  
  


"I need to get more correct answers if we're gonna win the competition." Ava said, breaking the silence between us.

  
  


I grabbed the remote control, pausing the movie we were watching.

"Aves, you got 17 out of 20," I told her, turning on my side to face her.

  
  


She had her head down, her hair falling in waves, hiding her profile. I couldn't resist and reached out, tucking a piece of it behind her ear. My hand probably lingered there more than necessary, but strangely enough, I was feeling her pain, her struggle with self-confidence. So I desperately needed to make her feel better, to make her see how amazing she was.

I cupped her cheek, stroking it as I gently tilted her head to meet me.

"Hey, listen to me. You are the most intelligent person I know. You are strong-headed and disciplined, and you have been nothing short of amazing during all of the previous competitions. Without you your team wouldn't be where they are right now."

She placed her hand on top of mine, meaning to remove it as she shook her head, but I gently cupped her face between my two hands. 

"Aves, I'm not just saying this-"

"You are, Sara. You are just saying this to make me feel better. I'm not good enough for the State championship, I know I'm not. We're going to lose because of that."

"Don't be silly! I know you have a hard time believing in yourself, but c'mon. All we have to do is look at the facts. You always analyze the facts beforehand, so let's do it."

That grabbed Ava's attention, and she looked up at me, nodding.

  
  


I smiled softly at her. "Good. How many competitions have Quiz Heads won so far, since you joined the team?"

Ava blushed at the question, biting her bottom lip.

"C'mon, I know you know the answer to that. Don't be shy, you have to be proud of yourself and your super brain."

She rolled her eyes half-heartedly at my joke, "Four out of five."

I nodded, no doubt with a proud smile on my face, "That's right. Which means you have everything to win this next match."

Now it was Ava's turn to nod, and she did so, right before throwing herself at me for a tight hug. 

"Thank you, Sara. You're amazing," she whispered against my ear.

  
  


I could feel the heat rushing to my face, and instinctively hid in the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet and soft smell of her perfume.

"I'm not that special," I whispered as I tried to calm my reckless beating heart, praying to the skies that she couldn't hear how hard it beat for her.

I felt her shaking her head in reply, "You are. You are the best friend I've ever had."

  
  


_ And I know I should have been happy about that, but I couldn't control the pang in my chest at her words. Because as it turned out, it had gotten to a point where being her friend wasn't good enough anymore. My selfish heart craved more, and it hurt for the lack of it. _

We ended up calling it a night, we both needed the rest. She laid down next to me, head resting on my shoulder. Ava wasn't usually a touchy person, at least not with her other friends or when we all hung out together. But whenever it was just the two of us, she would get more affectionate. She would cuddle up to me or briefly hold my hand, which made it harder to deal with my feelings.

It also meant that whenever we had sleepovers, especially at my place, we always ended up holding one another throughout the night. With time I would come to learn that sleep didn't come easy to her, there were plenty of times where she would get overcomed with nightmares that would leave her trembling. It would take some time to calm her down, but eventually I was able to do it. I knew I couldn't possibly understand what losing one of your parents must feel like - as much as me and my mom didn't get along well, I couldn't begin to imagine losing her forever - but I knew I could be there for Ava. That's what I always tried to do.

And if it meant holding her through the night while she cried her heart out, then so be it.

That time though, I wanted to say more. I needed to say more. So when I felt her breathing getting shallower and her body relaxing in my embrace, I whispered  _ I love you _ , positive she had succumbed to sleep already. I whispered it against her skin, over and over again, wishing it stayed embroidered in her mind and heart.

Little did I know, she was aware of it, listening closely; and was wishing it back to me.

* * *

  
  


_ That week of Spring Break went by in a flash, and so did the following weeks. Quiz Heads went on to win the championship, as expected, and Ava was on cloud nine because of that.  _

_ I decided it would be nice to organize a small party with Jax and Zari's help. Zari's family would be out of town for the weekend so it was the perfect chance to have a gathering of our own. _

_ I made sure I invited all Ava’s Quiz Heads' friends, which included Amaya, with whom I had shared a couple of classes and actually got along well with. There were also Ray and Nate, which I didn't know that well. But Ava seemed to be really close to them - especially to Ray - which meant that they were good people. _

The day of the gathering I had gone early to Zari’s house, so we could take care of everything on time, and I was just about to finish putting up the last decorations when the doorbell rang.

  
  


"I got it," Zari said before moving to open the door.

  
  


I nodded as I tried to stick the end of a banner to the living room wall. As I was just finishing I heard a familiar voice behind me.

  
  


"Hey there," Ava greeted. "You could have waited for me to give you a hand at that. No need to be stretching yourself on top of a ladder."

"You're just mad that I'm finally taller than you." I quickly shot back, earning a chuckle from her.

Once I was done, I tried to turn around to get off the ladder but accidentally slipped, ending up being caught in Ava's arms. "Shit!"

"Careful Sara!" she breathed out, worry evident in her face as she held me by the waist.

I looked up at her, still slightly shaken up. "I'm sorry, I don't know how that happened."

Her face softened, right hand going up to tuck a piece of stray hair behind my ear, turning me into a blushing mess.

  
  


"No problem. Are you okay?"

I cleared my throat before replying, not trusting my voice right away. "Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded, letting go of her. "Thank you."

She nodded back before stepping away to look up at the banner. "Congratulations uh?" she teased, a smirk in place. "You're making me feel like Royalty here."

I shrugged my shoulders at that, trying to hide my red cheeks. "Well yeah, you deserve it," I sufficed, trying to play it cool. "You bunch of geeks really kicked the other team's ass."

That made her laugh, and I realized I would gladly do everything to listen to that husky sound over and over again.

"Thanks! I'm sure they will appreciate all of this. Where should I put these?" she asked as she motioned to the snacks she had brought with her.

I quickly showed her around Zari's kitchen, telling her where she could place everything.

  
  
  


Soon enough, the rest of the guests started arriving, and some of us gathered in the living room while others stayed around the kitchen area.

I must admit, even though Ava's friends were a bunch of geeks, I actually had fun with them. Something Ava would relentlessly tease me about afterwards. 

  
  


*******

  
  


A few hours had gone into the night, we were all in the living room sitting around the coffee table playing a match of Trivial Pursuit when a certain theme was brought up by Amaya.

  
  


"So, do you all already know who you're taking to prom night?"

I remember freezing at the question, my eyes briefly on Ava, who suddenly had her gaze down.

My heart was begging me to invite her, to gather some courage and invite her already but I couldn't. The fear of rejection was too big. Especially in front of so many people.

So I ended up laughing it off as I turned to my friends. "Uh... Z, Jax and I are probably just going together as always. Right guys?"

Zari nodded slowly, but not before raising a suspicious eyebrow at me.

"That's right!" Jax thankfully replied, without any hesitation whatsoever. "The three amigos!" he added, making everyone laugh at the way he slightly slurred his words, no doubt due to the few beers he had had.

"I see," Amaya replied. "What about you, Ava? Any proposals yet?"

  
  


My heart dropped at that, I could feel my anxiety making an appearance as I waited to hear her reply. I averted my gaze away from the group, focusing on a loose cuticle on my left thumb.

  
  


"Uh… No, no proposals," Ava finally replied after a couple of beats in silence. I could sense the disappointment in her voice, even though I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why at the time.

"What about you Ray?" Amaya asked him.

He sighed, shoulders dropping, "Not really."

Nate placed his hand on Ray's shoulder, his face changing as if he just had had an epiphany.

"Buddy! Why don't you and Ava go together?" he asked, clearly excited and proud of his  _ brilliant  _ idea.

Ava and Ray looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders at the same time.

"Sure! Why not?" Ava told him with a small smile, and Ray nodded.

"Yes, sounds like a good idea. I'm sure we'll have fun," he smiled back, looking excited with the solution.

Ava smiled brightly at his words, and jealousy settled inside of me. I selfishly wanted that smile all for myself and no one else.

  
  


_ I was in a weird mood the rest of the night, and whenever Ava tried to reach out to me, I gave her the cold shoulder. I realize now that it wasn't my best behaviour, but at the time I was too hurt and mad by the fact that Ray would be the one taking her to prom instead of me. _

  
  


Soon enough people started leaving one by one, the only one left being Jax, Ava and I.

Ava followed me into the kitchen, empty bowls of food in hand.

Once I turned around I noticed her checking if there was someone else close by. 

"So…" she started, stepping closer to me. I could tell she was nervous by the way she kept fidgeting with her fingers and looking down at the floor.

  
  


I decided to coax her into speaking up, "Yes?"

  
  


She sighed, finally looking at me. "Is everything alright?"

  
  


The question was unexpected, and I started thinking that maybe I had exposed my feelings accidentally. I quickly tried to mask it as best as I could. "Everything's fine," I told her, forcing a smile into my lips. "Why wouldn't it be?" I added with a shrug of my shoulders.

  
  


She frowned at that, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. "It's just… You seemed  _ off _ . Tonight. I just feel like I did or said something wrong."

  
  
  


My cold resolve came tumbling down at her words. At the way she sounded so guilty when none of that was her fault. It wasn't fair to let her feel like that because of my own selfish feelings.

I swallowed my pride and pain, in an effort to put Ava's feelings first.

"You did nothing wrong Aves. I'm just not in a good mood tonight. Probably that time of the month, you know?"

  
  


She looked at me with suspicion, and I thought that would be the end of the game for me, until I saw her face relax.

Ava nodded, stepping closer and rubbing my shoulders gently, "I'm sorry. Do you need some painkillers?"

  
  


I smiled up at her, thankful for the concern. "No need. But thank you."

  
  


She smiled back at me, and all I wanted was to kiss her. To taste her lips and smile against them. But I pushed the intrusive thoughts down, shoved them in a drawer in the back of my mind before locking it and throwing the key away. Ava would never be mine, so there was no point in feeding the hope.

  
  


"There you are ladies. Everything good?" Zari's voice after she entered the kitchen broke me out of the Ava spell.

  
  


"Yep! All good." I told her, shooting a smile her way, to which she looked at sceptically.

  
  


"Okay," Zari replied before grabbing one of the leftover donuts.

An awkward silence settled in the room for a few minutes until Jax appeared by the doorway.

"Hey Ava, do you still want that ride home?"

Ava looked between me and Jax a couple of times, appearing to be pondering on something. She raised her hand, scratching the back of her neck.

"Actually, Sara, I was thinking if you would like to walk me home?" she asked, bright blue eyes piercing through mine. 

  
  


I swallowed my first instinct of saying  _ yes _ right away. Instead I looked at Zari and said, "I can't. I had already told Zari I would spend the night to help clean everything up and study for finals tomorrow morning."

  
  


Disappointment was all over Ava's face, but it was gone as quickly as it showed up. "Okay," she nodded before turning to Jax, a small smile on her face. "I guess I'll take that ride then," she said before making her way to Zari, giving her a quick hug, "Thanks for having me and the group over."

Zari smiled at her, "Anytime."

And with that Ava was out of the kitchen, with Jax following behind, but not before shaking his head at me. No doubt disapproving of my decision.

Once Zari and I were both alone, she stepped closer, smacking me in the arm.

"Ouch. What was that for?"

"You already told me you were spending the night?! Really?" she shook her head the same way Jax had.

  
  


I pinched the bridge of my nose, releasing a deep breath, "Just leave me alone, Z."

  
  


"You're an idiot, that's what you are. Ava is clearly head over heels for you, and you just rejected her. And worse, you finally had the perfect chance to ask her to prom and you didn't!"

  
  


"How can you be so sure that she likes me back?!"

  
  


"Uh, because I am a human being with an excellent set of eyes. I see the way she looks at you Sara! Now tell me, why didn't you invite her to prom?"

  
  


I groaned at the question, throwing my hands up. "Because Zari! She would never take my invitation! I'm not good enough, I will never be good enough. Ava is  _ special _ , she deserves better than a screw up like me."

  
  


"Sara…" Zari let out, voice way too soft for my liking, too out of character. I knew pity was coming my way, and I didn't want it.

  
  


"No. Save it. I don't wanna talk about her anymore and that stupid prom. I'm going with my friends, and she's going with Ray. It's the best outcome. Ray is perfect for her. He's intelligent and kind. He can give her what I can't." I said, and the conversation died there.

Zari always knew when not to push, and I did the same for her. We respected each other's limits, and that's why our friendship worked so well.

  
  
  
  


_ After that night, things between Ava and I died a bit. It wasn't the same anymore and I was to blame. I became cold and distant. Every time she tried to come closer I shut her off. _

_ Zari and Jax tried to show me I was wrong, but I wouldn't listen, I wouldn't budge. _

_ It's funny how things can change. At the beginning of the year I was the one chasing after her and being shut off, and now… Now I was the one ruining any chances of a good friendship. _

_ As the days and weeks went by, Ava started hanging out with her own friends only. I couldn't blame her, I never did. She was just protecting herself against my behaviour, she simply moved on. I could never expect her to keep chasing after me. It wouldn't be fair on her, and it wasn’t even something I deserved. _

* * *

**PROM NIGHT**

_ I remember being in Zari's bedroom, sitting at her vanity as she gave the last touches to my hair. _

  
  


"Okay, I think I'm done," she said, stepping back to admire her work.

I smirked at her through the mirror, "You think or you're sure?"

She rolled her eyes slowly before lowering her head to my level. "I'm sure. You look amazing."

I smiled softly, giving her a once over. "Thank you Z. You look amazing too."

She beamed at that. "Jax is certainly a lucky dude, with these two hot shots by his side."

_ That made me laugh, only like Zari was able to. It helped ease the uneasiness in my guts, for the fact that the person I wanted to be next to wasn't there. The person I wanted to wow with my new blue navy dress, freshly applied make up and intricate updo wasn't even aware of how much I wanted her to notice me. _

  
  


"Yes, he certainly is," I agreed, standing and grabbing my purse right as Zari's mother called us from downstairs.

"Girls! Please come down here, Jackson is waiting for you."

Zari and I shared a smile before leaving her bedroom. She went ahead of me and I felt a wave of fondness warming up my chest at the proud smiles of my friend's parents. And if I'm being honest, Jax also seemed pretty satisfied at how beautiful Zari looked that night.

His eyes stayed on her for a while before she cleared her throat, breaking him out of his trance. 

He then looked at me, and I shot him a knowing smile.

"Girls, you look… Wow, you both look amazing," Jax finally said, finding his voice.

Zari blushed at his words as she made it all the way down the stairs, stepping closer to him. 

"You look pretty amazing yourself," Zari told him, a slight and unusual blush on her cheeks.

He blushed as well, a shy smile forming on his lips.

We then posed for a few pictures, as Zari's parents insisted on recording the moment for posterity.

After they were done, we said our goodbyes and made our way to Jax's car, driving to what would be our last school party as high school students.

  
  


*******

**AT THE PROM**

_ One of those old cheesy 80’s songs was on, blasting through the speakers. The dance floor was illuminated by all the lights. Green, red, blue and yellow hues cast over the students dancing. Just like an old movie. And where was I? Sulking by the snacks table, drink in hand as I tried not to think that instead of Ray, it could be me dancing with Ava. My right hand on her waist as my left made her twirl around, her smile and laughter infectious as always, making me laugh along with her. And as the music changed into something calmer, quieter, I would step closer, pulling her to me, hugging her tightly as we swayed slowly to the rhythm of it. Her arms would snake around my frame, carefully - as she always does it - and her head would come resting on my shoulder.  _

_ But dreams almost never come true, do they? And that’s how I thought back then. So instead of gathering the courage to go after her and ask her to grant me a dance, I decided to flee. I had to get away from the room, as it seemed to be closing in on me, I needed to breathe. So I made my way to the exit, not even bothering to look back as I heard my friends call after me. _

_ I pressed both hands against the handle, opening the gym doors and running down the hall. I could hear someone’s steps, chasing me. I fastened my pace, until I came into the entrance of the building. I pushed the door, leading me into the street. Finally, some fresh air. I continued walking, with no destination whatsoever. I just knew I needed to stop seeing Ava dance with someone else, stop seeing her in someone else’s arms, someone else’s embrace. _

_ “Sara!” I heard a voice call, and I finally realized who was chasing me. I stopped in my tracks, turning around to face her. _

_ I couldn’t speak right away, I needed some seconds to collect myself. She waited, patient as always. _

_ When I finally regained my voice, I asked, “Why are you here?” sounding harsher than I had intended to. _

_ Ava raised her eyebrows at me, “I could ask you the same thing.” _

_ I dropped my head, sighing. “I needed some air.” _

_ I heard her step closer, until her pretty ball shoes were in my line of sight. I raised my head again, looking straight at her mesmerizing blue eyes. Oh how I had missed gazing into them. My poor heart ached with want, all I wanted was to reach out and touch her, I would have been happy with simply holding her hand. _

_ And now that I had her so close to myself, I realized how sad she looked. A shadow of the Ava I had come to know and love. My gut clenched painfully at the thought that I might had been the one causing it, at the notion of it. _

_ Finally, her voice pierced through the silence, “What happened to us?” _

_ I felt physically ill by the bluntness of it. But that was Ava, always straight to the point when the situation asked for it. _

I swallowed the nausea, looking as unbothered as I could manage. “You should go back inside, Ava; Ray is probably wondering why you’re gone.”

“I asked you a question, Sara,” she spat back, stomping her foot, challenging me.

Ava knew I would never step down from a challenge. I had to at least give her some sort of answer - “I don’t know what you mean,” - even if it was a lame one.

She frowned, looking sadder than before. “We used to be friends;  _ good _ friends. At least…” her chin started trembling, and I knew immediately that she was using all her strength to keep it together. She inhaled sharply, keeping her tears at bay before adding, “At least I thought we were,” a sobbed, painful chuckle left her lips. “I guess I was wrong.”

And with that, Ava turned to leave. 

I stood there, in the middle of the entrance garden, looking at her retreating figure. Disappointed at myself. But something inside of me snapped, and I realized that I wasn't in a movie. That, that was real life,  _ my _ life. And there wasn't going to be any happy ending unless I chased it.

So that's what I did. I chased after Ava, calling out her name through the corridor that led back to the dance. Asking her to wait and stop numerous times, until she did.

She finally turned around, and I could see her eyes shining and her bottom lip trembling, breaking my heart all over again.

I stepped closer, slowly, afraid she might bolt. Once I was sure she wouldn't, I reached out and cupped her face, stroking her cheeks gently.

"I'm so sorry, Aves. Please don't cry."

She looked down, shaking her head. "I'm not," she said, but I could feel how hard she was clenching her jaw, trying to keep her tears at bay.

I pressed on my tip-toes, placing a lingering kiss against her forehead. I felt her trembling under my lips as a sob left her, followed by many others. I quickly hugged her tightly to me, my hands reaching for her back as she buried her face on the crook of my neck.

We stood there, holding one another, I don’t even know for how long. Nothing else mattered. Time didn’t matter. All it mattered was comforting Ava. Show her what I was too afraid to pronounce.

I let her be the one to break the embrace, lean back and let go when she felt ready to do so.

“I missed you Sara, so much,” she said, averting her eyes from mine as she wiped her tears away, sniffling softly. A dull ache settled in my chest, knowing I was the culprit of her broken state.

“I missed you too,” I finally admitted, making her look at me promptly.

“You did?” Ava asked with genuine surprise. I reached out for her cheek, stroking it as softly as I could, glad when she didn’t pull back. “Of course I did.”

“Well what do you expect me to think when you basically ghosted me for months?” she asked, voice bitter. She was mad too, and with every reason to be. I dropped my hand, looking down. I decided that it was time to show my cards, I had avoided it enough, and it only had caused damage.

“I was scared…” I said, voice faltering. I cleared my throat, breathing deeply as I tried to gain the courage I needed to say what I had to say. After a couple of minutes in silence, feeling Ava’s burning gaze on me, I finally confessed, “I fell in love with you, months ago. And the thought of you not feeling the same scared me shitless, so I thought it was better to push you away before you had the chance to break my heart.” I could feel my eyes stinging, tears wanting forcefully to run down my face.

A gentle hand below my chin lifted my head, and I met stormy blue eyes. In a matter of seconds, a pair of soft lips pressed against mine, moving slowly, carefully. I was shocked at first, but quickly shut my eyes, letting myself drown in the best kiss I had ever shared with someone.

When Ava broke it, her forehead came to rest against mine. “Sara Lance, you’re an idiot.”

I was so giddy from having just kissed her, that I didn’t even mind the name calling. All I could do was smile like a fool. 

“Why?”

Ava chuckled at the question, shaking her head, “For thinking I didn’t love you back,” she said, grazing her nose against mine before leaning back to look at me. She grabbed my hands, squeezing gently. “You should have talked to me before pushing me away.”

I felt guilty settling in the pit of my stomach, “I know,” I nodded, chewing on my lip before looking at her again. “Will you forgive me? For hurting you?”

Ava smiled softly at me, shrugging her shoulders, “Already did,” she said, a small smirk on her face, eyes shining with affection.

I nodded. “Good… Can I kiss you? I really liked kissing you.” I admitted sheepishly. She chuckled, smiling shyly at me. 

“Yeah, I would like that.”

Our lips met again, and I felt magic once more. A pleasant tingle ran from my head to toes. If it were my choice, I would never stop kissing Ava. All my heart could sing was  _ Ava, Ava, Ava _ .

But we soon needed air, so we parted. Both with matching goofy smiles on our faces.

“I can’t believe I’m kissing  _ the  _ Ava Sharpe.” I teased, earning a weak slap on the arm.

“Don’t get too cocky,” she told me, pecking me playfully on the lips.

“Mhm…” I brought my arms up, resting them on her shoulders. I closed my eyes for an instant and rested my forehead against hers again. Music could be heard coming from the gym.

Her hands wrapped around my waist, and suddenly we were swaying slowly to the ballad playing.

“Would you like to go inside?” Ava asked after a few minutes, leaning her head back, curious blue eyes looking at me.

I shook my head, not ready to let go of her. Not wanting to burst the bubble we found ourselves in just yet. “No, baby. I’m fine here with just you.” I realized way too late what I had just called her, my cheeks burning up in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“No! It’s fine,” she looked at me with half-lidded eyes, biting her lip. “I like it.”

A big smile made its way to my face. “Good. Do you want to go inside though?”

“Nope. I like being here in the middle of the corridor, dancing just the two of us.”

We danced a bit more, until I heard a small groan from Ava.

“Something wrong?”

She scrunched up her nose, “Just these shoes. They’re extremely uncomfortable.”

I looked down, noticing how high the heels were. “Oh yeah, they look like it. They’re very pretty though,” I said before kneeling down.

“What are you doing?”

“Being a gentlewoman and helping you out of them?” I tried, looking up at her. “C’mon, brace yourself on my shoulder so you won’t lose your balance and fall.”

Ava laughed but did as I told her. In a few minutes she was barefoot and glad, if the groan she let out was of any indication.

“All good?” I asked once I got back to my feet. She nodded before patting my head, “Now you’re  _ almost _ as tall as me.”

I glared at her, crossing my arms, “This is what I get for being chivalrous, uh?”

She started peppering my face with kisses, making me laugh. “You know I’m just teasing you, Sar.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I poked her sides, laughing harder as she squirmed. “Hey! Play fair.”

I held my hands in surrender, instead holding her by the waist to press her against me. “I can’t believe you actually feel the same way about me.”

“Well…” her voice turned even huskier, “You better start believing it, because it’s true.”

“You look even more beautiful tonight by the way. I should have said it sooner.”

Ava scoffed at my words. “I was crying like a baby a few moments ago. My makeup is completely ruined, I must look like a raccoon.”

I smiled, kissing her once more. Losing myself in the feeling of her body against mine. “Like I said, beautiful.”  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! As always, your opinions are always welcomed! :)


End file.
